Boeing 737 Crashes in Russian City of Kazan, Killing 50 People

A Boeing 737 airliner crashed on
landing in the Russian city of Kazan, killing all 50 people on
board, according to a statement from Tatarstan’s Ministry for
Emergencies.

Flight 363 from Moscow’s Domodedovo airport burst into
flames after hitting the runway in Kazan at 7:26 p.m. local
time, according to a statement from Russia’s Investigation
Committee. The plane was operated by the regional airline
Tarastan Air Co.

“So far, the fire has been extinguished and investigators
are conducting a crime scene examination,” it said. Kazan is
about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) east of the Russian capital.

Investigators are weighing “technical failure, pilot error
and bad weather conditions,” as possible causes of the crash,
the statement said. The plane broke in several pieces after
trying to land for a second time, RIA Novosti reported, citing
unidentified Transport Ministry and Volga Federal district
officials.

Boeing, in a statement, said it’s prepared to provide
technical assistance as the accident is investigated.

Irek Minnikhanov, the elder son of Tatarstan President
Rustam Minnikhanov, was on the flight, Interfax reported, citing
Tatarstan Deputy Prime Minister Yury Kamaltynov.

President Vladimir Putin has instructed the government to
set up a commission to probe the cause, Interfax reported,
citing his spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Alexander Bastrykin, head of
the Investigative Committee, is in charge of the case and has
sent a team of forensic investigators to Kazan.

The emergencies ministry published a list of the names of
the victims on its website.